Conveyer chain for drying apparatus and the like



Apr. 24, 1923;

, 1,452,943 c. WAGNER ET AL CONVEYER CHAIN FOR DRYING APPARATUS AND THE LJKE Filed March 15 1921 gum/Mow (#muar Mame/r I [V3279 A I g 2 4353 wtomeigflmimrr din/4 Patented Apr. 24, 1923.

UNITED STATES CHARLES WAGNER, OF GRANTWOOD,

AND AUGUST HORMEL, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW

JERSEY.

CONVEYER CHAIN FOR DRYING- APPARATUS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed. March 15 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES 'lVAGNER and AUGUST HoRMnL, both citizens of the United States, and residents, respectively, of Grantwood, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, and 260 Griffith Street, Jersey City, State of New Jersey, have 1nvented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveyer Chains for Drying Apparatus and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in conveyer chains.

The primary object of this invention 1s to improve and simplify the constructlon of conveyer or transfer chains and to el1m1- nate slack and lost motion therein.

Another object of our invention is to pro duce a conveyer or transfer chain adapted to transfer printed, painted or varnished plates from end to end of a drying machine, such as described in our former Letters Patent #1393261, dated February 41th, 1919, and to providemeans in such a chain for enabling carrier members mounted thereon to have sufiicient but limited pivotal movement or play to assume positions inclined to the perpendicular during the travel of the chain on its upper stretch.

Another object of our invention is to produce a conveyer or transfer chain composed of a series of links which will, during such travel of the chain on its upper stretch, provide an even fiat surface between the adjacent carriers for supporting the lower edges of plates supported or transferred by the chain.

Another object of our invention is the provision in a conveyer or transfer chain composed of a series of links pivotally connected together, of simple means for effectively limiting the relative pivotal movemerit of the links in one direction beyond a rectilinear line to produce rigidity or stiffness of construction and to prevent sagging duringthe travel ofthe chainon its upper stretch, while at the same time permitting free relative pivotal movement or breaking of the linksrelatively to each other in the opposite direction to permit passage around a sprocket wheel or like actuating device.

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises the combination of members and arrangement ofparts so com- 1921. Serial No. 452,632.

bined as to co-act and cooperate with each other in the performance of the functions and the accomplishment of the results herein contemplated, and comprises in one of its adaptations the species or preferred form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a conveyer or transfer chain having carriers mounted thereon such as employed in a plate drying apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the chain shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a portion of one row of the movementlimiting web members being broken away and shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View of the 1movement-limiting web members employed y us.

Referring now to these drawings, our improved chain is composed of a series of links 1 of conventional type, each link preferably comprising, as shown, two spaced wheel-engaging sleeves 2 turning on bushings A which are fixedly mounted at the op-' posite ends of side webs 6 and 7 Within each of the bushings A are mounted axles or axes 8 and the adjacent links are preferably pivotally connected at one side edge by mounting upon and connecting adjacent axles at that side by a row of conventional connecting-webs 9, each provided with axle bearing apertures 9 9.

The axles 8 at the side of the links opposite to the pivoted connecting-webs 9 are preferably sufficiently elongated to permit the mounting thereon of our anti-slack device composed, as shown, of rows of movement-limiting web members or elements 10 which are identical but disposed in reverse positions in relation to each other. In the embodiment shown, carriers 11 are pivotally mounted on the axles 8 and are locked between two rows of such web-members 10.

As illustrated, our anti-slack device comprises two rows of such identical movementlimiting web-members, each having bearing apertures 1O-10 contiguous to the lower "edge thereof and a movement-limiting projection 1O preferably formed integrally with the web at the upper edge thereof and preferably disposed intermediate the opposite ends of said web at such upper edge. Each of these identical web members 10 is mounted. by means of the bearing apertures l010 on adjacent axles of the chain and is of such dimensions as to leave a play channel between the opposite edges of adj acent web members when so mounted. As shown, one row of such movement-limiting web members, which we shall call the inner row, is arranged with the movement-limiting projection 10 extending outwardly and mounted on the axles 8 to pivot-ally connect axles o adjacent links 1 of the chain, while another row of said web members, which we shall call the outer row, is, as illustrated, mounted on such axles to connect the two axles of a link and in reverse position with its projection 10 extending inwardly between and abutting against the adjacent ends of the members constituting the inner row and with the ends of adjacent web members of such outer row abutting against the outwardly extending limiting projections of the inner row, to pivotally connect one of the two axles webbed by the first-mentioned member 10 and an adjacent axle. The front bearing apertures 01 one row, in the embodiment shown, registers with the rear bearing aperture of the first-mentioned web-member and the intermediate projections of the reversed members extend inwardly and outwardly respectively and abut at opposite sides against the ends of the members in the opposite row of said web members to limit the upward movement above a rectilinear line of such members and consequently limit ing such movement of the chain links 1.

The horizontal projections of the said webmembers are preferably disposed in substantially the same horizontal plane as the upper edges of the said web members and such members thus provide a flat riding surface for the edge of a metal plate when the same is being transferred by the chain,

The inner and outer rows of web members 10 are also preferably spaced from each other laterally to permit the mounting between the oppositely-extending projections of adjacent members of the ends-of carriers 11. This construction provides intermediatethe said oppositely disposed projections of the reverse rows of web members an elongated slotl3 which permits the carriers to have play or movement'and also permits the carriers to assume an inclined position with respect to the horizontal path of travel of the chain. This movement of the carriers is desirable in the utilization of a chain of this character for the transferring through a drying apparatus of plates which have been painted, varnished orprinted uponone side forthe purpose of drying the same.

The abutment of the inwardly and outwardly disposed projections against the ends of the reversely disposed web members will, when the chain is travelling along its upper stretch, also limit the pivotal movement of the links in relation to each other beyonda rectilinear line in an upward direction, and thus stiffens the chain and prevents a downward sagging, slack or lost motion of the chain in its upperstretch during travel of the chain above the actuating sprockets.

Any suitable means maybe provided for confining the web members and carrier ends on the axles or axes 8 and as illustrated washers 14 are provided at the outer side oi the outer row of web members and cotter pins 15 are inserted in bores 16 "formed in the axles 8.

qaving described our invention, we cla11n:

1. In a conveyer chain, the combination with a series of links having means adapted to engage a sprocket-wheel, ota series oi? web members connected to said chain and adapted to permit relative pivotal movement of the links in one direction from a rectilinear line but to prevent movementof such links in the opposite direction beyond such rectilinear line. i

2. In a conveyer chain, the combination wita a series of links having means adapt: ed to engage a sprocket-wheel, of a series of web members connected to said chain and having horizontal projections adapted to provide elongated slots between adjacent projections, and carriers pivoted within said slots on said chain to have movement to a position inclined to the perpendicular when the chain is moving on its stretch above the sprockets.

3. In a conveyer' chain, the combination with a series of links having meansadapted to engage a sprocket-wheel, of a series of web members, each having suitable bearing means for pivotal mounting on the chain and also provided with movement-limiting projections, said web members being arrangei'l in inner and outer rows with the projections reversely disposed and abutting when the chain is on its upper stretch above the sprockets against the adjacent endsiof opposite web members and also being spaced to provide slots between the oppositely-extendingprojections, and carriers pivoted within said slots between the adjacent projections to have movement to a position in clined to a perpendicular to the path of travel of the chain when the same is moving on its horizontal stretch above the sprockets.

4:. In a conveyer chain, the combination with a series of links having means adapted to engage a sprocket-wheel, of a series of identical web-members, each having hearing apertures adjacent to the lower edge and a horizontal projection at. its upper edge intermediate the ends of such web-members,

said web members being mounted on said chain in inner and outer rows with the projections reversely disposed and abutting when the chain is moving on its upper stretch above the sprockets against the adjacent ends of opposite web-members, whereby relative pivotal movement in one direction from a rectilinear line will be permitted but movement of such links in the opposite direction beyond such rectilinear line is prevented.

5. In a conveyer chain, the combination with a pair of chains, each comprising a series of links having means adapted to engage a sprocket-wheel, of a series of webmembers, each having bearing apertures adjacent to the lower edge and a horizontal projection at its upper edge intermediate the ends of such web-member, said web members being arranged in inner and outer spaced rows with the projections reversely disposed to provide elongated slots between adjacent projections and to abut when the chain is moving on its upper stretch above the actuating sprockets against the adjacent ends of opposite members, whereby relative pivotal movement of the links in one direction from a rectilinear line will be permitted but movement of such links in the opposite direction beyond such rectilinear line will be prevented and carriers pivoted within such slots on the pair of chains.

In witness whereof, we have signed our names to the foregoing specification in the presence of two subscribin witnesses.

CHARL S WAGNER.

AUGUST HORMEL. Witnesses:

FREDERICK P. RANDOLPH, JOSEPH F. OBRIEN. 

